Robbery at New South African School – Menzi Primary – was Organised Crime, says Lesufi

The Gauteng Department of Education has challenged communities to join South African law enforcement agencies in hunting the criminals who robbed a new state-of-the-art school in Tsakane, in Ekurhuleni on Tuesday… less than a week after it was officially opened.

The school – which cost R105 508 403 to build – was opened by Gauteng Premier David Makhura last Wednesday.

Speaking on Radio 702 on Wednesday morning, MEC Panyaza Lesufi said authorities are certain the robbery was pulled off by an organised crime syndicate.

He said:

They disabled the communication system of the CCTV. We have vaults there, an alarm system and we also had some security systems that we thought were the best for that community. You can’t postpone the future of our children because of criminals.

The green technology school, which is in the heart of Langaville in Tsakane Township, boasts facilities such as 33 smart classrooms, a Grade R block with five classrooms, two smart science labs, two smart multi-purpose rooms, a library and dining hall.

But on Tuesday criminals robbed the school making away with several resources. Two patrollers were apparently tied up and locked in one of the strong rooms. The criminals broke the main vault door to access the keys to the entire school, the department said on Tuesday.

The criminals got away with all 185 learners’ tablets, 8 teacher laptops, 2 data projectors, 3 desktop projectors, plasma TV, petty cash of less than R500 as well as a digital video recorder with the hard drive. A case has been opened with the Tsakane police station.

Lesufi has expressed his disappointment at the incident and challenged the community to hunt for the robbers.

We challenge members of the community to assist in the hunt for the robbers, by Friday, failing which we will have no choice but to withdraw the expensive equipment from the school.

Panyaza said it was sad that Grade 7 learners do not have any textbooks as their e-books are now gone.

These are educational facilities aimed at enhancing the quality of the education and life of the children in the township. We are extremely disappointed that criminals can disrupt the education of learners.

Information which can lead to the arrest of the criminals can be communicated to the SAPS Crime Stop number 086 00 10111 or their nearest police station.

Callers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated in the strictest of confidence. – SAnews.gov.za